Editor Reviewed Publications
Working Papers
Walsh, Lindsay. “The Gender Gap in Political Ambition: Candidate Party Identification in Jordan”
Is there a gender gap in political ambition among candidates in authoritarian elections? Do women have more ambition among candidates who identify with parties? This study examines the gendered effects of party identification on candidate political ambition in Jordan. Multiple types of political organizations participate in Jordanian elections, but function differently and operate under dissimilar electoral rules. Candidates have greater political ambition when they perceive structural advantages, and electoral rules over party participation in Jordanian elections present uneven structural advantages to women candidates. Therefore, the gap between men and women may be different among those who identify with parties. I conduct an original survey of former candidates in the 2024 Jordanian parliamentary election that measures desire to hold elected office, run for future elections, continue working in politics, and pursue specific political careers. In addition, I conduct 40 in-depth interviews with select candidates, political party leaders, and tribe leaders. I find that women candidates have more ambition than men. However, among candidates who identify with parties, women candidates do not have significantly higher political ambition than male candidates. This helps us to understand the nature and reasons for the political ambition gender gap in an authoritarian context – and has implications for the emergence of women candidates, women’s descriptive representation, and responsive governance.
Recent waves of protest have given rise to movement parties, or parties with strong ties to social movements that combine anti-system activism with opposition to governing parties and elites. We study the effects of Lebanon’s 2019 October Revolution, a series of nationwide protests that took place over several months and targeted an extractive elite that has governed for two decades. Difference-in-differences estimates show that localities where protests took place were more likely to support movement parties in the election that followed the uprising. We attribute this effect to the exclusionary nature of the electoral system and show that support for movement parties was greatest in areas neglected by existing parties. Our findings contribute new insight into the relationship between protest movements and electoral behavior. Movement parties persistently struggle to channel anti-government, revolutionary opposition into support for electoral alternatives—but not where they are able to exploit the weaknesses of existing parties.
Yadav, Vineeta and Lindsay Walsh. ”Political Parties in Turkey: Socializing Women for Success”
Walsh, Lindsay. “The Substantive Impact of Gender Quotas: A Longitudinal Study.”
Muscat, Oman
Lindsay Walsh 